Chapter 21 Family Reunion

The carriage creaked and swayed. Yun Shang lay inside with her eyes closed. She was immersed in her thoughts. It had been nearly a month since she had been reborn as her younger self. With the help of her memories from her previous life, Yun Shang had struck and prevailed a few times. However, she had completely lost the last contest and had been forced to flee the Royal Palace.

She would have been dead by now if her mother hadn't come to her rescue.

'Steady on, now, ' Yun Shang sighed and thought to herself. She had been driven by nothing but hatred ever since her rebirth. She had jumped to her plan for vengeance without thinking things through. She had obviously forgotten that, at this point, she was not strong enough to fight back.

So far, she had neither a plan nor her own trusted men to support her. Under these circumstances, all her actions would be equivalent to committing suicide. Luckily, she had come to her senses just in time to make remedies. Now that her mother had tried all means to escort her out of the Royal Palace, she would seize the precious opportunity to get all the preparation work done.

'Empress Yuan Zhen and Princess Hua Jing, wait for me to return and take back everything you owe me.'

It had passed noon when the carriage finally stopped. Holding Qin Yi's hands for support, Yun Shang got off the carriage. Looking up, she saw stone steps leading to the front door of the Ning'guo Temple. Yun Shang then followed Master Wu Na into the temple.

Wu Na led the way and didn't stop until they saw a small yard located at the foot of the hills behind the Temple. He said to Yun Shang, "This is the residence that we prepared for Princess Hui Guo. May she enjoy a quiet retreat here in the days to come."

As Wu Na introduced the surroundings, Yun Shang noticed a monk approaching with a young girl. Yun Shang couldn't help staring at the little girl. She was about the same height as Yun Shang and even looked quite like her.

"Master, who is she?" Yun Shang frowned, having no idea what Wu Na intended.

With a sly grin, Wu Na replied, "She is going to be Princess Hui Guo, the Princess who lives here..."

Yun Shang thought over the Master's words. 'Is going to...'

Yun Shang thought she had an idea of where the Master was headed. "Is she my replacement?" she asked.

Wu Na nodded and turned to Qin Yi, "You'd better stay and attend to Princess Hui Guo." He looked at Yun Shang again and said, "Now if you'd like follow me this way, Mr. Yuanshan has been waiting for you for quite a while."

Who on earth was Mr. Yuanshan?

Yun Shang paused in surprise. She then recalled Qin Yi had mentioned it to her earlier that day. Though she never had a chance to meet him in person in her previous life, Yun Shang had been led to believe that Mr. Y

uanshan was her grandfather. Thinking of that, Yun Shang ordered Qin Yi, "Stay here. Send me a message if something is wrong."

Qin Yi was a clever girl. She immediately understood Wu Na's plan and played along, "Yes, I know what to do. Don't worry, Princess. I'll make sure that everything is under control here."

Yun Shang hummed her approval. She looked over Qin Yi's shoulder. She stared at the girl for a long while before turning back to Wu Na and said, "After you, Master Wu Na."

Wu Na led Yun Shang through a lush bamboo forest. In the middle of the forest, she saw a few huts. They had hardly reached the huts when they saw a man standing outside in the small clearing. The man looked to be in his forties and wore a simple black linen long gown. Yun Shang couldn't see the man's face clearly because of the distance. However, from the unique charisma he exuded, despite being so casual, she knew for certain that he was by no means as ordinary a man as he appeared to be.

The man seemed to notice both Wu Na and Yun Shang in no time. He walked slowly towards them and stopped in front of Yun Shang. She noticed that he was smiling at her. Yun Shang stopped as well and looked at the handsome man before her. Though he was not young anymore, age had hardly left traces on his face. And the maturity added more flavors to his charm. As they made eye contact, Yun Shang recognized him. She was too excited to speak up. They stared at each other silently until Yun Shang let out a smile and called out, "Grandfather."

The man beamed and replied, "There you are, Shu Jin's little girl. You look just like her when she was little, so pretty and so clever."

Yun Shang looked up at the man and couldn't help grinning as well. She felt so thrilled to be reunited with her grandfather.

Xiao Yuanshan stepped forward and lifted Yun Shang, "You've grown up. You were just a tiny little newborn baby last time I saw you."

He then turned to Wu Na and said, "I owe you a big one. How about I give you a three-pieces head start next time we play Go?"

Yun Shang looked back at Wu Na curiously, and was surprised when he answered calmly, "I have violated my precepts. I brought the Princess out of the Royal Palace by lying. And you want to make it up to me with only three pieces? That will be far too easy for you. Next time you come here, bring me a pot of refined peach blossom wine and we are even."

Xiao Yuanshan raised his eyebrow, "Depraved." He then carried Yun Shang into the yard while warning her, "Shang'er, let's pay no attention to him. There's no truth coming out of his mouth. I don't see how he could deceive so many people."

Leaning against Xiao Yuanshan's shoulder docilely, Yun Shang found the inner peace that she had long been searching for. So she muttered softly, "I know."